Disclaimer: Watsuki Nobuhiro and others own Rurouni Kenshin. This
fiction is for entertainment purposes only and no monies will ever be
made from it. So please do not sue me. I have no money.

Summary: Kenshin?s past comes back to haunt and a new danger starts to
hunt in Tokyo.

Rating: R

A KILLING MOVE

By COLLEEN

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Chapter 9a

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The first man he had ever killed had been an accident.

When he went to shrine he actually gave thanks for that nameless kill.
It had opened his eyes to what had been missing in his life. He had
tried to fill his days with work and his nights with pleasure, but as
the days piled up into the years of his existence he felt himself
becoming empty. Soon, he would have been as unreal as the people around
him had always seemed to be.

So at first he hunted the ones that wouldn?t be missed. The ones that he
could hid afterwards. It was easy. Tokyo Bay proved to be an excellent
body of water to sink a few corpses into. None of them had ever come
back up to haunt him.

After awhile the thrill had gone out of the game. The last death hadn?t
even been a mild challenge. The prey had been completely unaware he was
even being stalked until the blade had passed half way through his body.

He had needed to get a new game.

And then it came to him. He needed a challenge. He needed to work his
way up from the dregs to someone that might actually pose a danger to
him. Not that he would ever really be in danger; he was too good for that.

So he worked on a new game. Given his job it wasn?t too surprising that
he knew several excellent swordsmen. He learned from them, absorbing all
that they could teach him.

He, of course, already knew how to use a sword, but now he added to that
knowledge. He combined the pieces of his and other styles like a puzzle,
fitting and cutting the moves until he created one that was devastating.
It hadn?t been easy to master. Now though, with the workout he had
gotten during his old game and a month of all out training in the new
move he could do it. In fact he could make it look simple.

Now he just needed to refine it with a new challenge.

He realized that one of the things that had been wrong with the first
game was that the prey often didn?t know it was prey. So he used the
promise of riches as a lure. Since his choices where either dangerous or
desperate men it usually worked.

It worked on Anami Koji who was the first boy to die. His second choice,
Hagiwara Dayu, actually turned the offer down. It was too bad. He had
often watched the kendo student practicing while he worked, as the dojo
the boy studied at was in the same area where he carried out his duties.
He was sure the boy would have made for a good game.

He killed him before he could go ten steps in the opposite direction;
after all he couldn?t have him talking about the offer, ne?

The boy?s reaction was only a short-term worry, as the next two players
followed the instructions to the letter. Sometimes he thought it was a
shame that there wasn?t really any money for them to win. Still it
didn?t matter, as none of them would ever get that far anyway.

Take the one from last night. He had run so many circles around the
gangster that he was sure that the yakuza thought an entire gang was
pursuing him, rather that just one man. It was a shame really. He had
started out with such promise but had quickly become boring. He had
ended the game before it was even half way over.

One interesting aspect about this new game was the leaving of the bodies
where they fell. Now he got the acknowledgement he had been missing from
the first game. He also got to watch the police as they stumbled around.
However, his enjoyment had quickly soured when Inspector Fujita had
taken over. The man was too competent for his own good and would have to
be dealt with soon. Maybe, once he had had his fun with Battousai, he
should make up a new game just for him. Something that would last longer
than the current contests. Sometimes the deaths seemed to fast. Yes, a
new game where he took the time to draw it out a little.

It would be much more enjoyable.

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Chapter 9b

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The first rule when picking prey to hunt was to study them. If they
weren?t interesting then there wasn?t much point in pursuing them. Even
with a prize as tempting as histories strongest hitokiri on the line he
didn?t want a contest that wasn?t a contest, ne?

So he had picked up the man?s trail when the former shadow assassin
arrived at the police station. Battousai obviously had some further
business with Fujita. He would have given much to listen into that
conversation but decided that the risk was to great for what he could
learn. Besides as much as he wanted to know every little thing that went
on (those things that were about him at least, although most things were
about him) he was sure that any information they traded would have no
impact on his hunt.

He followed; watching as the red head left police headquarters and
walked down the road. The man?s pace was slow and he seemed to be
thinking something over. The watcher had to marvel at him. That someone
who appeared to still be a boy had once been the man who caused other
grown men to tremble in fear, even in their sleep, was close to
unbelievable.

He glanced at the sword at Battousai?s side. His old skills must still
be strong if he had been able to keep wearing it in this new age of
?peace? and his old skills were what were wanted. Anything less then
that would be an insult. Boring as well.

No, wouldn?t do to be bored. Being bored with a game meant ending it
quickly and he wanted to have some fun for a change. His mind ran over
the possibilities that would be opened to him when his game with the
hitokiri truly began.

He started out of his daydream to notice that Battousai was now walking
next to a woman in a blue green kimono. She seemed strangely familiar
but he couldn?t place her. He also couldn?t tell what they where talking
about, but he could see that Himura was uneasy in her presence.

Odd, it was hard to focus on her. Like she wasn?t quite there... silly
thought. They stopped on the road for a few more moments. It looked like
they had come to some sort of understanding. Next thing some idiot
blocked his view of the couple as he went out of his way to avoid the
two people on the road. When he had a clear field of vision again the
hitokiri was standing alone, a pensive look on his face.

He let the samurai get ahead of him while he checked the area for her.
Shaking his head at her disappearing trick he went off after his target,
catching up to him as he arrived at a kendo dojo. The look on his face
told him that this was home. How he reacted here would tell him how to
entice the hitokiri into playing his game, his way.

Oh, the fun he would have.

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Chapter 9c

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After watching Battousai with his ?family? he came to an undeniable
conclusion.

Battousai was obviously insane.

He wasn?t sure if the man was a sadist or a masochist but he certainly
wasn?t normal. Even though he could have avoided it he actually just
stood there while the girl he lived with slammed into him as he
attempted to enter at the gate. Admit ably it did appear to his eyes
that Battousai had actually stood still so he could cushion her fall.
Her attempt to avoid running into him would have otherwise found her
flat on her face, pushing up dirt with her nose.

He did seem to enjoy being on the ground with the girl, as he didn?t
rush to get her off of him. This was a good sign; she might be useful.
That the hitokiri seemed to take great delight in how violent the girl
(woman?) was towards the young man who also lived there (her brother?)
labelled him the sadist he knew he was. He had to wonder if the assassin
also enjoyed it when she turned that temper on him, perhaps in private.

The other man, the one that brought the younger boy back like a sack of
rice was obviously a gangster of some sort. Battousai seemed on good
terms with him and the fact that the younger man couldn?t quite stifle
his amazement at the young woman and boy?s antics said that he had seen
it all before but still couldn?t quite believe it. Obviously this sort
of thing happened every day. And Battousai seemed to love it.

He was definitely insane.

Insane was unpredictable.

Insane was dangerous.

Insane was... challenging!

He continued to watch as the group of them, minus his red headed target,
trekked off to some destination. Battousai stayed to deal with the
laundry of all things. Well he could understand that, after all he
didn?t like it when things where messy or out of place either.

It was apparent that nothing would be happening anytime soon. His
attention had started to drift as he made plans for the upcoming game
when he heard a yelp and a splash. He looked back to his target to see
him struggling to get out of the wash tub. The woman from the road, the
one in the blue green kimono stood over him laughing like a hyena.

What was it with him and women anyway? He let them get away with things
that should normally get them killed. Crazy.

That lady in sea green had surprised the watcher again. Despite being
distracted he didn?t expect anyone to be able to get past him that
easily. He was also beginning to think that the reason she was familiar
was that she had been the woman who had found last night?s kill.

If it was her then maybe he could solve two problems at once. By
eliminating her he could get rid of a witness and take care of the
question of how to get the Hitokiri Battousai to play the game.

It was something to think about, over some dinner perhaps. Events here
appeared to be stagnant at the moment. He would come back after he got
something to eat; maybe he?d even wait until he decided how to continue.
But it would have to be soon.

He really didn?t want to wait much longer for his prize.

_End of Chapter 9_

Note: I?m not sure if I?m conveying this character as convincingly as
I?d hoped. However, I have to say that I really don?t like being in his
head, it?s dark and slimy and everything here is dead. Brrr.

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